(800) 853-2651
SHOP NOW

Towing a Tractor

M

MattCatlin

Member
I don't have much experience with trailers, mostly small utility trailers hauling a little firewood, an atv etc. I bought an 8n and am borrowing a larger trailer and a big old diesel pickup to bring it home this weekend. I have to pull it a couple hours on major highways. Any tips for this rookie?
 
Sell the N series ford. Purchase something with live pto,live hydraulics and better brakes. A rops, power steering and diff lock are good too.
 
Does the trailer have sides? Anyways secure it to the front Idealy 4 points of contact one on each corner

However 3 will do if you take two from the draw bar to each corner or the front and make sure they are tight! to the point the tire flexes!

what are you using? chain binders or ratchet straps?
 
You might make this same post on the <a href="http://www.ytmag.com/tport/wwwboard1.html">Tractor Transporting</a> forum.

You might also mention what state or states your tractor will be transported.

Hope this helps.
 
Buick, Probably not bad advice but I got this one running like a sewing machine, all lights work, good hydraulics, good tires, all arounf good shape with a dearborn 2 bottom all for 2K.

I am only going to play farm on 7 or 8 acres. Mostly milo corn and clover food plots for deer, a sweet corn patch and pumkins for us.
 
Will do, thanks for the input. I am in Missouri and will be using nylon ratchet straps. PLanning on cranking them down till the tires mash a little, then stopping before the highway to take up any slack that develops. Last year a bunch of us took a trailer of 4 wheelers to colorado from Iowa on an elk hunt. The straps really streched we had to stop and recinch every couple hours. I am a little nervous about it.
 
Be 100% certian that the trailer is made to carry the load.

If you do not know anything about how to secure the load you need to have someone with you who does.

You need at least 2 grade 70 3/8" chains and binders.

Rather than have us write a book, it would be helpful to know what you know...
 
you need DOT rated straps that are rated for your load. DOT frowns on straps for moving tractors. They can work if you have points on the tractor that they can be hooked to. If the strap rubs against any point of the tractor or trailer you need guards to keep it from abrading the strap.
 
You can't pay any never mind to B&D when it comes to N's. Some one made him look bad on one some time and he still ain't over it. :)

As to your question, while I have done more with alot less, them straps can get you pulled over in some parts. DOT wants to see big chain, boomed tight to front and back, and hooked to frame or D ring, not hooked to rail or fender. Good luck and congrats on the old ford.

Dave
 
We use chains and binders to tie down our tractors/equipment.

Travel a few miles and check the tension; tighten again if necessary.

We always put the binders on the left/passenger side of the trailer.

That way some idiot won't side-swipe your trailer on the right/drive side and run over you to.

Have a safe trip.
 
Be sure to balance the load so that you have around 200 lbs load on the tongue to keep it from bouncing or pushing because of to much weight or swaying because of to little. If it runs true at the weight then its OK adjust it if it sways or pushes your truck.
Personally I use the chains and binders but the large 4" wide straps are good not the smaller 2" wide. Strap it down by the axles for maximum strength. Just take it easy your in no big hurry to get home.
Walt
 
Check out the brakes on the trailer and make sure they're working.

As for tying down, as long as your straps are in good condition and tagged for their rating (3300 WL is good), they will suffice. I prefer Grade 70 chains. I've taken to binding one end of my tractors down with the old breakover binders I've always had, and using ratchet type binders on the other end to get and keep things tightened down. You can squat the tires just as easily as with ratchet straps. Still, they require checking early on and regularly thereafter.

If that plow is mounted to the tractor, it will need it's own, separate strap or chain.

IF DOT should bother you, you have NEVER used ANY tractor to help a neighbor. You have NEVER sold a bit of produce from your farmette, nor EVER sold any livestock that you might have used ANY tractor to feed, clean up after ... Your kids have NEVER set up a 'mater and cucumber stand at the end of the driveway. They can still make trouble if they want for your neighbor on the assumption that he will be somehow be compensated for the use of his truck and trailer.

Apart from that, get your load balanced and secure, allow more distance fore and aft as you go down the road, keep your eyes open and have a fun trip.
 
My neighbor has one and he has used it to take care of 16 acres of hay up until last year when his wife told him 82 is to old to farm.
Walt
 
I use straps all the time. I pull the tractor all the way up to the front of the trailer if its small, MF-135, Ford-3000 etc. I then strap it up against the front of the trailer, and set the parking brake, along with park the tractor in gear (low 2 usually). Like i said i will strap the front up against the front, then take a strap around the back and attach it to the front, then i take a strap across front and attach it to the back. (i have also strapped the back axle further back on the trailer, and the front to the front). The idea is to prevent the tractor from possibly shifting forward while braking, but then you also want to hold it from moving back. I will also take a chain and attach it around the tractor to the trailer as a safety. You can never strap down something too much. Dont buy those cheap little 4 packs of straps rated for 600 lbs, you will break them. I broke one holding down two buckets, but it was just an extra strap, i had a big dot rated strap over them also. Home Depot sells some big dot rated straps that run around 10-20 bucks.
 
An N series weighs about 2850 or there about with air in the tires. Make sure the trailer tires are inflated close to the max.If the trailer is wagging get more weight on the tongue.Strap the hell out of it. Make sure you got good lights, do about 50 55 in the right hand lane, let them go around.
 
Decent 861's and 135's are $3,000 plus around here, but good N's can be had for $1600 to $2000. I grew up with an 8N- it was dad's only tractor, and we used it for everything on a 45 cow dairy for 12 years. That being said, I'm not a big fan of them, but for a small acreage and within their limitations, they're fine.

One wag on here awhile back opined that N's were good for stuff like going down to get the mail. If you didn't have too much mail.
 
my brother has one just as you describe about 17mpg on the road 15 around town . shifts up and down a lot but then Gassers do ( I'm use to the diesels ) . It is rated for 1750 lbs in bed and 9000 lbs towing. went from Va. to Indiana once to pick up about 1000 lb motor (diesel engine) handled the load like a dream .
 
For 2K? Not for something in good running condition. There's nothing wrong with 8N's. Maybe he's just going to pull a plow or disc on the 3 pt. It's not a top fuel dragster. As long as someone uses common sense and doesn't drive it on steep side hills, it's not going to roll over. There are millions of tractors without rollbars. They aren't like cows that you can just tip over when they're sleeping. Over 500,000 8N's were sold and there's still a lot of them being used for all kinds of things without any problems. Dave
 
To get the weight in proper position on the trailer, lean a stick nearly upright against the trailer hitch, and make a mark on it about 2 inches below the top of the hitch. Drive the tractor forward on the trailer until the hitch has come down about 2 inches, and that's where you park the load. If the trailer tends to "wander" at speed, stop and move it a little further forward.

Pulling a car trailer and 8N with a diesel pickup, you shouldn't even know it is back there. Be sure to adjust the trailer brake controller (mounted under the dash) after you're loaded, so the trailer brakes help you stop, but don't lock up and skid.
 
you should have a 4 point tie down, that is the only legal way, also your chain must be grade 70, gold colored shiny chain. I notice some of the guys giving you advice apparently do not use 4 point tie down. 4 chains, 4 chain binders (one on each corner), that is all you need, no reason to put 13 dinky straps on it.
 
Alright for "similar" money, take home an 800 series ford, 35/135 or something similar with live power.I bleed JD green and am still recommending the later ford or little Massey's.The Massey 35/135/235/65/165/265 were quite respectable.
My neighbor who had used his/his Father's 8N since it was new. Turned it greasy side up on top of himself 3 yrs ago. He survived but his health took a down turn and he passed away less than a year later.
Just too many people killed or crippled with the N's or any other machine. Trying push it beyond it's design limits.No over running clutch while bush hogging and brake problems are too prevalent to ignore.
The old N's have their place in history, but history is in the past.I don't has much use for JD's either that lack live power and decent brakes.
It's really best at towing horse drawn equipment that has been converted to tractor use.Field spraying, irrigation pumps, standby generators. Or using the factory mounted plough in light soils, the disk or cultivator.
I would have tried to put the cost of towing into more tractor located closer to home.
 
After 40 or 50 years, you may need to replace the brakes. It's unfortunate that your neighbor flipped his dads 8N and later died but it's also highly possible that he wasn't using any common sense when it happened and was doing something he shouldn't have been doing in the first place. With the thousands of N series and similar tractors still in use, don't you think that if they were so dangerous, that they would have been deemed that way and not be allowed to resell. You could get killed in any brand new tractor if you're being an idiot and not using some common sense. You can't knock a machine just because someone was seriously injured on one. Maybe, just maybe it wasn't the machines fault. Too many people get killed in cars. Are cars all dangerous? Sorry, it has more to do with the operator than anything else. Dave
 
I'm with you, but gotta differ.

If the tractor is under 10,000, it isn't required to be tied down on all four corners. Still, that's the way I do it and I'd recommend idoing so as readily as you do. As long as you don't bend or break anything, you can't ever bind something down too tight.


The chain doesn't have to be the Gold 70, but it's helpful. It's the only grade of chain that I've found consistently marked for grade. Chain marked for 60 or 40 will do on oa small tractor like we're discussing, if it's of a sufficient size for the job. Unmarked chain will be assumed to be Grade 30 and perhaps not up to the job, depending on its size. (I've got some nice 5/16" Grade 90 chains that I trust, but they aren't marked and will be assumed to be Grade 30 by anybody that pulls me over and checks.)

Same applies to straps. I'll have to go searching, but there are tables available that show what they will assume the working load and breaking limit of a strap to be if it's not labeled, by the manufacturer, and otherwise in good condition.

And while I prefer chains, I don't see why four 3300# straps, plus a chain or strap for the plow if it's mounted to the tractor, wouldn't be perfectly adequate.
 
135 Fan, Good explanation. Also applies to guns that some people think kill people.
 
I agree fully for the most part, jsut like give'n you a hard time about the N's. Most folks who have an N don't buy them for the job they can do, they get them "cause granddad had one". Round here the last few years most folks ain't pay'n for toys and there is a $1500 spread on 8N's and 800's in same condition.

Dave
 
You guys are great. I will definantely work at getting the thing adequately secured and the advice on placement of the load/tongue weight is appreciated as well. I would have thought the plow would have been ok on the three point, will add a strap over it. I know nothing and since I realize it, am approaching this awful cautiously.
 
You've said that before, either here or ovr on Tractor Transporting. I've looked at MN, and I don't see where they publish any regs for securement that are stricter than the FMSCA requirements. Have ya got anything that points to them. I'm not arguin', but I can't find 'em.
 
I'm just saying if somebody is in the market for a bargain tractor. They can do better for very little extra cost.
I just cringe when ever I see some new rural estate owner who has zero clue about tractors. They run out and private deal the cheapest thing with wheels. Thinking they have a tractor "That is the same is what's on the dealer's lot", just cheaper. They just made it easier to "get in over their head".
 
Well, I hear ya on that. I have a problem with some of the diesel bears and the way they interpret things.

As I stated somewhere else in the thread, my preference is for chains, and I suspect the bear's is, too. Can't fault a fellow for preferences. But an adequately DOT rated and labeled strap in good condition and protected from chafing is as good as a chain as far as the regs are concerned. For something in the 5000# range with no attachments (bucket, backhoe, 3-pt implement) a 3300# Kinedyne ratchet strap on each end is legal. One on each corner is better, but one on each end is legal. If somebody with an adequate strap on each corner were pulled over because the officer would rather see chains, well . . . it's a good stop if the straps appear sketchy or undersize, but otherwise it's a fishing expedition.

Had an exchange a while back with a county mounty who allowed as how he would pull over any one-ton pickup he saw that might have a load like a two-bottom plow in the bed, to check for compliance with requirements for a DOT number operating commercially over 10,000#. I asked him why he might do that. He said it was because his database said the truck was rated for 12,000#. I allowed as how my SRW 3500 Ram was rated for 9900, and the weight of my plow and truck would certainly be under 10k. He said he would make the stop anyway and look at my doorplate to determine GVWR and go from there. Again fishing, for revenue.

And harassment if you get right down to it. They're out of control.
 
I here you on the rules. A person can never find out any hard rules. I wish that the Feds would make up the hauling rules so that all the lower 48 states would be the same. Too simple. JMO BOB
 
Here in the communist state of New York we need one tie down per axle. So 2 chains and 2 binders will do. We even need to tie down our lawn mowers if we are a commercial company, if we are a homeowner moving a lawm mower, or Joe weekend lawn care YOU DONT NEED ANY TIE DOWNS. Go Figure.
 
jay what nobody here has asked unless i missed it is what kind of trailer did you borrow? if its a tandem axle just load it to the front strap it down and go, i pull my naa all over the place with a similar rig, just take it easy untill you get the feel of the weight, stopping distance and handeling, a n is only about 2850 lbs unless it has loaded tires and you should be just fine
and a N is just fine for a small light weight tractor for chores, mowing ect , yes bigger tractors will easily out work it but if your not farming 100 acres you dont need one
 
For 7 acres just playing around and maybe clearing snow, an 8N or similar is fine. Better than spending $10,000 for a glorified garden tractor. A good 135 will cost at least double what he paid for his good 8N. I've seen lots of people in sub divisions spend way too much on some fancy lawn and garden tractor that can't move snow any better than a shovel and in the summer all it does it cut grass or pull a tiny little wagon. Dave
 
This is one time, and mabey the only time I'll agree with B&D... but for what an 'N' will cost you to buy, it's poor value.
Mabey for someone that spent half a lifetime on one and is a very experienced operator... they'll get along fine with it and quite safely. What I've seen is something different tho.. you get a lot of people who never owned a tractor, never operated a tractor and can't afford a tractor decide that they want a tractor. Many will end up with an 'N' or one of the other various other orphan bastards that are on the market that dont' have live PTO, don't have live/any/standardized/modern hydraulics, little or no brakes, etc... and off they go. I've seen some of the situations that some friends/neighbours have gotten themselves into with a tractor and absolutley can't figure out how or why they did what they did... but they did. And some are damn lucky to be alive.
To be quite blunt, there's an experience factor that ought to go with owning one of those things that MANY such owners simply DO NOT have. They don't know the limits and many aren't even aware that there ~are~ limits...
More than a few will get the Darwin award yet.

I've been a fairly firm believer for some time that the smallest tractor that most novice buyers should consider would be a later model 3 cylinder Ford 4000 because it's big enough to take the punishment that many will throw at it, has the weight and brakes to cover for most of the stupid things they'll do and it's quite reliable otherwise. Without starting a brand war... I'm sure there are comparable models in other colors, but I use the 4000 as an example...

Rod
 
Put some weight on the rear of the towing vehicle and NOT on the rear of the trailer.After you start driving you will get the feel, no need to speed. Take your time and arrive alive.
 
Here is a direct link.

If you have a book, pull it out and say, well, this is what it says, it shows you took the extra care to try to get it right. They can't do much of anything to you about straps if you have enough to cover the weight you are holding down with them.

The working load limits of the chains/ straps has to exceed such a percentage of the load weight forward, backward, and side to side. This book has all that information, a list of working load limits, and the "accepted" ways to chain down irregularly shaped objects.

I don't know if they have updated it to include the rules for binding bales. They passed rules specific to bales. The DOT was stopping guys and making them bind them down according to the new rules they came out with a couple years ago, and guys were losing them, so some people raised a stink and they made specific rules for them.

Some TA and most Flying J truckstops also carry this.
Cargo Securement Handbook for Drivers
 
I use straps also but was surprised recently when I was lifting a welded assembely up to weld onto a killbros gravity wagon. I used straps which were "rated" for 3000 lbs and had to angle them pretty flat to clear the ceiling of my shop. I was surprised to find that the strap did not fail but the ratchet assembly failed, coming unlatched and apart, flying off and hitting the shop wall. I tried again (not smart) and had a similar but less spectacular failure.

All in all I would much rather trust a set of chains.
Brad
 
(quoted from post at 12:37:05 11/07/09) I use straps also but was surprised recently when I was lifting a welded assembely up to weld onto a killbros gravity wagon. I used straps which were "rated" for 3000 lbs and had to angle them pretty flat to clear the ceiling of my shop. I was surprised to find that the strap did not fail but the ratchet assembly failed, coming unlatched and apart, flying off and hitting the shop wall. I tried again (not smart) and had a similar but less spectacular failure.

All in all I would much rather trust a set of chains.
Brad
Click to expand...

A chain of the same strength would also fail. When lifting with multiple slings on a single load. In particular when the angle gets flattened due to limited head room or too short slings. You could be lifting a 4500lb load with two 3000lb slings and exceed both slings rated load of 3000lbs each.
 
Thanks to all who gave advice. I put four straps on it and I don't think it even wiggled. Glad to be home safe and sound with the old girl.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

T
U-Haul hauling a tractor
Replies
10
Views
2K
john in la
J
tomstractorsandtoys
Hauling head aches
Replies
19
Views
2K
oldwrencher
O
J
How narrow is too narrow for a trailer?
2
Replies
24
Views
2K
BarnyardEngineering
BarnyardEngineering
M
Tractor towing
Replies
12
Views
2K
Leroy
L
F
Deere 4020 New Owner Questions
2
Replies
29
Views
1K
FFFAM
F
Tractor Parts Tractor Manuals

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Copyright © 1997-2024 Yesterday's Tractor Co.

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.

Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters
Website Accessibility Policy

Back
Top